…As NUPENG laments poor condition of Abuja IDP camp

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

ABUJA—IN a move that appears to be vengeful, some of the Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, from Borno State have pleaded with the Federal Government to recruit them into the military to help fight the Boko Haram terrorists as well as help in the protection of the country.

NIGERIAN RETURNEES FROM CAMEROUN RECEIVING THEIR MEAL AT THE NEMA TRANSIT CAMP IN ADAMAWA RED BRICK FACTORY IN MUBI ON SUNDAY.

This came as the leadership of National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, led by its President, Comrade Igwe Achese, has lamented the poor condition of the IDPs camp in Abuja and called on the government to make the place conducive for the inmates of the camp.
12-year-old Matthew Ayuba, who is a primary three pupil in the school at the camp, said he hoped to join the Nigerian army to help fight the insurgency and also defend the country.

Ayuba, who was passionate on joining the military, said he and his fellow inmates in the camps would make the difference if they were given the opportunity to join the military.

Speaking while on a visit to the IDPS camp in Abuja where he made donations of food items, blankets, toiletries worth over one million Naira and another cash donation of N1 million for the upkeep of the 1450 inmates and the education of some of them expressed disappointment over the porous security situation and lack of facilities in the camp.

Comrade Achese said: “We came to express our love and to show our concern to the IDPs who were displaced internally in their home communities and their country Nigeria because of the the insurgency that we are facing today.

“The situation is painful and shocking that for the past four years we have been fighting this issue of insurgency and bringing people out of their communities to safeguard them.

“You are also putting them in a very hostile environment where anything can happen to them at any time, you can imagine where the school children are learning, they are learning in an open atmosphere that if it rains today, it will be difficult for these children to sit down to learn and read their books.

“We are calling on government, this is least expected of our country which is the biggest country in Africa and the sixth largest producer of Argo-carbon and has what it takes in terms of the natural gas to make this environment conducive for these displaced citizens.

“It is so sad that there is no light, there is no security, we are talking about the insecurity we have today in North east and North west and here the IDPs are not secured.”

The inmates, who were full of jubilation for the gesture by NUPENG, lamented that the condition they had found themselves was pathetic.